Nathans & Roncast

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the new Nathans & Ronstadt album, “Esperanza.” The title is a reference to the Spanish word for “hope.” This episode includes preview clips from songs on the album. Singles are beginning to drop, and the full album will be released in July 2026. Enjoy this sneak peak at “Esperanza”!

In part two of our conversation, Connie Kaldor talks about the experience of making music with her family; preparing her voice for shows; and the allure of writing songs about cars. The Boston Globe has described Connie Kaldor as, “a masterful performer, wildly funny one moment, deeply personal the next.” A three-time Juno Award winner, Connie is a member of the Order of Canada, a Queen’s Golden J...

Connie Kaldor began her career in folk music as part of the Canadian wave alongside artists like Stan Rogers and Valdy. Armed with her enormous stage presence, her unforgettable melodies, and her emotional depth as a songwriter, she became a headline act on the festival circuit. She talks about touring with her family; what it’s like to cross the border from Canada into the United States in this d...

In part two of our conversation with Vance Gilbert, he discusses guitar techniques, plays a few songs, and talks about both the life lessons he’s learned from cancer, as well as how laughter has been a great medicine.

We were honored to speak with the great Vance Gilbert, a master songwriter, performer, and teacher whom we have long admired. He’s funny as heck, and it’s common to see him headlining folk festivals around the country as he cracks up his audience, makes them think, and leaves them moved. We cover the full range of emotion in this poignant conversation about his recent struggles with cancer, his or...

For our Season 3 premiere, we are honored to present our interview with the great James McMurtry, the Texas songwriter who paints vivid portraits in song with sly and smart observations. In our conversation, we cover what motivates him to write; his memories of participating in the Kerrville Folk Festival song contest; his thoughts on international touring and his memories of Guy Clark. His most r...

We’re back, and with a twist: We now have a video edition of this podcast as well! You can finally see us at our YouTube channel, @nathansronstadt. Or, stick to audio and hear us as nature intended. We’ve got some great guests this season. We can’t wait to share a few details with you.

We continue Michael’s “Ronstadt Radio” series, beginning with “Riders In The Sky,” which contains a fiddle tune in the middle by Ronstadt Generations in 2012. John Ronstadt is back with Miles Davis’ “All Blues” with lyrics. We finish the set with a “The Fire Within” featuring Will Clipman on percussion and Michael on cello.

We have three more fun tracks from the family vault! First up is Round Midnight sung by John Ronstadt in 1994 from the album Maiden Voyage. We then here my dad Michael J. Ronstadt lead on John Prine’s Paradise in 1998. The last one is Wildly Ethereal featuring Will Clipman on percussion.

In Episode 3, we have three more tracks from the Ronstadt family. We start out with “My Walking Stick” performed by the Ronstadt cousins, which is a song by Irving Berlin. We next go into the beautiful Mexican song “La Barca De Oro” sung by Michael’s dad, which was a favorite song of his grandfather, Gilbert Ronstadt. (Papa Mike is backed by the full Ronstadt Generations band.) We finish up the se...

This week we introduce three songs from the Ronstadt Family vault, first featuring Michael’s dad’s long-time trio, the Ronstadt Cousins and their recording of Wild Mountain Thyme (live in Canelo). He also features his instrumental recording of the fiddle tune Arizona into Wayfaring Stranger from his 2020 instrumental album Nine Stories. It finishes with Ronstadt Generations’ recording of Papa Mike...

For our third season premiere, we introduce several episodes we are calling the Ronstadt Radio Podcast, featuring music from the Ronstadt family vault! This one starts out with Petie Ronstadt’s instrumental banjo piece, Chicago Bar Stomp, performed by Ronstadt Generations. Next, enjoy The Ronstadt Cousin’s Solamente Una Vez, a group my dad had for years with two of his first cousins. Finally we fi...

In our Season 2 finale, we speak with Professor Louie about his memories of working with The Band for over 16 years. He produced their three comeback CD’s in the 90’s: “Jericho,” “High On The Hog” and “Jubilation.” Louie played on and produced their hit song Atlantic City. He talks at length about his time working with the great Garth Hudson. He also talks about his recording engineer work with ot...

In the saucy second half of our interview with Livingston Taylor, the legendary folk musician gets philosophical about life, electricity and fire, performing, teaching, and hope. Notably, he discusses why he doesn’t want to dwell too much on his past. He said he sees more patterns as he works with more students over time. “I learn from them what they learn from me.” And he takes out his guitar aga...

We speak with the great Professor Louie of Professor Louie and the Crowmatix, taking a dive into his formative years and musical education. He spoke about how he found his voice in a tough business. “You’ve got to elevate yourself” and be happy for your friends when they are successful, he said, echoing one of the band’s new songs. He spoke about how he learned about healthy competition from gospe...

We were honored to interview folk music legend Livingston Taylor, someone whose music has been in Aaron’s music collection for a very long time. In part one of our conversation with Liv, he talks about the importance of dressing for the occasion. We talk about how he worked with the BBC concert orchestra for his new album, including how he works with his friend, arranger Bill Elliott, for orchestr...

Michael speaks with Z. Mulls, who has co-written elegant and offbeat songs with Michael (you may know their song “Me and My Purple Monkey.”) They released their collaborative album “Less Hospitable Terrain” earlier this year. In their conversation, Z. talks about the origins of “Rumpelstiltskin, Dead at 95,” which required him to go back and review the old story — and then flash forward 40 years.

Michael recently recorded an album, “Blue Bayou,” with Neysa Ricciardi, and in this week’s episode, he speaks with Neysa about her songwriting process, the value of musical schooling, and writing for others. They discuss the song “September Sad,” which reflects on the end of summer.

This week we’ve lost some important people in our world. Aaron lost his brother in law, David. And the music world lost songwriter and guitarist Christine Havrilla. So it’s no surprise that Aaron has memorial songs on the brain. It’s always tricky to find the right song to play at a memorial service. Maybe you pick something that tells you a little about the deceased, or perhaps you want the song...

It’s one of the most delicate questions in songwriting. Do we add a bridge to our songs? Do they need that little bit of variation, those different chords, that rising melody? Michael takes a deep dive into the question of when a bridge is necessary; when it isn’t; and do they really have to sit two-thirds of the way through the song every time? He discusses a few of his songs and how he employed...

The word “baby” has been a staple of songwriting since before we were born. From “Baby Face” to “Be My Baby” to “…Baby One More Time,” generations of songwriters can’t seem to quit this word. In this episode, we take a historical look at use of the word in songwriting, and what it is we’re really trying to say when we use it. And Aaron talks about how the word has the potential to say something yo...

Michael remembers his cousin, Bobby Ronstadt, who passed away on March 30, 2025. In this episode, Michael recalls doing some of his own earliest studio work on Bobby’s 1999 album “Shadows in a Dream.” Michael recalls what a kind, warm spirit Bobby was. Michael features several of Bobby’s songs in this episode. “I want the world to know his music,” Michael says. The first song is “Lupe,” for which...

When it comes to crafting rhymes in song, the perfect can be the enemy of the good. In a perfect rhyme, among two words, the ending consonants and the vowel sounds that you stress match exactly. Moon, June. Dance, chance. Night, light. But there are a finite number of words that rhyme exactly, and they may not match what you’re trying to say. In this episode, Aaron explains why near rhymes are so...

In part two of our conversation, Spook Handy unspools the story behind “This Land Is Your Land.” He talks about how Woody Guthrie had the idea for the song; how Pete Seeger helped him edit the song into the song you know today; and the important role that property rights played in the writing of the song. Spook played with Pete Seeger more than 50 times, and in our conversation, Spook talks about...

New Jersey folk singer and songwriter Spook Handy is our guest this week as we take a deep dive into Woody Guthrie’s classic song “This Land is Your Land.” Spook wrote this wonderful blog about Pete Seeger’s role in helping make the song into what we know it to be today. In part one of our conversation with Spook, he talks about why he cringes when he and Pete Seeger are described as protest singe...